Thursday, March 3, 2011

A Bevy of Blouses

I'm lacking in tops to wear to work under jackets and cardis, so I'm going to make a slew of them for spring, and have made a few blouse fabric purchses recently:

WinMil Fabrics in Boston had a rainbow of colors of silk charmeuse: I picked up a cream (goes with everything!) and a super-happy bright yellow.

L - cream silk charmeuse, M - Milly silk, R - yellow silk charmeuse

I've never worked with silk charmeuse, and may have to underline so they're not too slick to work with. Though it'd be such a luxury to have these against my skin...

The middle fabric is a 100% silk by the designer Milly from Metro Textiles in New York. I just love the equestrian-esque print, and in my favorite colors - neutrals.

I've finally decided to become a big girl sewer and begin using "real" (i.e. non-JoAnn Fabrics) interfacing. I purchased a few yards from Emma One Sock - Linda advised that this is interfacing that designers work with. I'm excited to use it. While at the (online) store, I couldn't resist throwing a few bolts into my (online) cart. The fabric on the left is a crosshatch print silk/cotton in lovely olivey-tones (now sold out, but looks like new colors in this print were added yesterday). I thought the colors were rather unusual and not often seen in RTW. The fabric on the right is a sheer rose print silk by designer Thakoon.

I planned to use all 3, but Joanne recently indicated that M5977 had to be taken in significantly for it to have shape. Interestingly, I compared both patterns, and S2599 is much wider! Perhaps I'll use the details of M5977 on S2599, which I know fits well since I made it last spring. This is by far my most-worn sewn wardrobe piece - I wear it constantly. It's made from a cheap cut of silk dupioni from JoAnn's: I don't think the top cost more than $10 to make. Cost per wear is into the pennies at this point.

We must be on the same page because I just sewed charmeuse for the first time. Definitely, research french seams vs. mock french seams and sew the hem carefully... that's my advice..not that you asked for it :)

All your fabrics are drool-worthy! I am definitely envious. If you come up with any tips for working with slippery fabric, I'll be interested to learn them. Investing in a bulk quantity of decent interfacing seems like a very good idea. I may follow your lead:-)

I love your fabric choices and am looking forward to seeing them all made up! I used to go to Winmill Fabric in Boston all the time when I worked near it. I had forgotten that it was there - thanks for the reminder, I'll have to make a trip into town! Happy Sewing!